Pepper is Kushina? What did they do to Naruto?
Tony stared at his wife, Pepper Potts, his best friend Happy, and his intern and son's godfather, Peter. He cradled Naruto Uzumaki, the son of his past life as Minato and wife Kushina. As Pepper clutched her head and said “Sochi ”in a manner reminiscent of Kushina, Tony's realization hit him like a thunderbolt. 'Wait a minute, it couldn't be... No, it is. Pepper is like me; I am Minato's, she is Kushina's reincarnation,' Tony thought.
"Pepper, are you okay?" Tony inquired, his tone filled with concern.
"Yes, Tony, or should I say Minato-Kun? I remember now, I remember my past life. I was a kunoichi, the Red Death of the Leaf Village, Kushina Uzumaki, your wife, the mother of our son, and the former holder of the Kyubi. I remember how you saved me from the Cloud Shinobi, fought Kyuubi to release his control over me, and even how that one-eyed Uchiha monster tried to kill Sochi on his birthday, leading to the Kyuubi's release. We gave our lives to protect Naruto from our son and seal the fox in him," Pepper recounted.
"Kushina, I mean, Pepper, I'm so happy you are Kushina. It seems our love transcends lifetimes," Tony said, and the two leaned in for a kiss.
"So, Tony, why do you have Naruto? Wasn't the village treating him well? I thought you would leave him there to maintain the balance of tailed beasts and ensure Konoha is not destroyed by other villages with their own Jinchuriki," Pepper inquired.
"Konoha is dead. They are not my home; the villagers were abusing him, using my name. They were saying, 'Finish what the Fourth started,' as if I somehow started a blood debt with my own son," Tony said, enraged. Hearing this, Pepper got mad, and chakra seeped out of her, her hair turning into nine tails.
"I'll kill them," Pepper declared angrily, and a voice spoke, "Those monsters! Tell Tony, tell me you slaughtered those monsters who hurt our baby." The voice was sounded like that of the Kyuubi which scared Tony because she didn’t host him anymore.
"Of course, I did. They could only see flashes before all of them died. What kind of man do you think I am? They attacked my son; obviously, they are in the ground, dead," Tony asserted, and Pepper leaned in, kissing Tony, finding it satisfying how he avenged those who hurt their son.
"Tony, excuse me for interrupting your little family reunion, but who is this kid, and why is Pepper so mad?" Happy questioned.
"Well, I guess I have no choice," Tony said, taking a deep breath. "Pepper and I are reincarnations of two ninja from a different world where everyone has chakra," Tony explained the story of Kushina and Minato. "And this is our son, Naruto," Tony added, pointing to Naruto.
Happy was dumbfounded; Peter, on the other hand, looked at Tony with stars in his eyes. Minato Namikaze was like a better version of Steve Rogers, a man who didn't cheat his way to becoming a legendary figure in a war, unlike Steve Rogers, who only reached that status because of a super serum.
"So, you're telling me you're both reincarnated SS Rank ninja who had flee-of-sight orders, and this is your son from that world who was being abused?" Happy clarified, and Tony and Pepper nodded.
"I'm not leaving him in that village; the village was a cesspool of shit," Tony declared, emphasizing that he would not take Naruto back there.
"Okay, but what are we gonna do? We need to register him for school," Happy suggested.
"He's too small for that; he's 4 years old," Tony said, doting on Naruto. Pepper stomped up, pulled Naruto from Tony's hands, and started hugging her baby.
"Hey," Tony whined.
"Mother's right," Pepper said, and the two bickered.
"What's going to happen to him?" Happy asked.
"Nothing; he's too young for school. But we can't let Ross find out about his powers because if he does, well, then I guess there's another name added to my kill count. If that ugly bastard even comes near my son, I don't care if I have to eliminate the entire United States Military, Air Force, or Marines; I will protect him no matter the cost," Tony declared, startling Peter and Happy.
"I will help you, Tony," Pepper affirmed.
"The Red Death and the Yellow Flash. Ross won't know what hit them. No, the entire world would be terrified, and probably declare us supreme rulers," Tony joked. "But seriously, Friday, we need to protect your baby brother, Naruto. I want you to leak every bad thing Secretary Ross has. He needs to lose all power he has," Tony instructed.
"Will do, Boss," Friday replied.
"Ms. Potts, can I hold Naruto? He's so cute," Peter requested, and Pepper handed the toddler to him.
"Sure, can you carry him to Cho and have him looked over? I want to know what those wolves in sheep's clothing did to my kid," Pepper said, angered by the betrayal of the Leaf Village.
"On it, Ms. Potts," Peter said, carrying the toddler to Dr. Cho.
"Tony," Pepper called.
"Yes, babe," Tony replied.
"I think you need to make some changes to the Iron Man armor that will make it Chakra-friendly. We need to prepare for Rogers and company because, no matter what they did, we all know the Americans won't like their hero Rogers imprisoned. Some political leader would use freeing them as a political campaign, or if some event happens like another alien invasion, they will be released to fight under the excuse that they will need all the manpower they can get," Pepper suggested.
"You're right, babe. We can't allow their freedom; we can't trust them. I'm pretty sure the government would make Rogers the leader of the new Avengers. We have to make protocols that will leash them up, especially since Naruto's here. If they even lay a finger on him, they will be begging for death," Tony declared, and Pepper kissed him.
"I will make some changes to the Iron Man armor. You're right; we can't trust them, not after everything they have done. I won't ever let them touch Naruto. Who knows what that rat Natasha will do," Tony said as the two headed to his workshop.
"So, they have a kid now," Happy remarked.
"Yup," Peter said.
"How do you feel about this?" Happy asked.
"Tony Stark was the only adult figure I looked up to until a few years ago. Also, Captain America, Uncle Ben liked him, but after I learned the truth about Captain America—that the real Captain America was nothing like the comics and that he is a cheating, lying hypocrite who didn't even fight in the war properly but cheated, unlike Tony who, as Minato, made his own techniques and became a war hero—Steve lied about Tony's parents' death and is overall a hypocrite. He berates Tony and Thor for nothing, telling him things like “sometimes my teammates don’t tell me things” but hides Mr. Stark's parents' death from him. I lost a lot of respect for him, and I am very happy that Tony has someone who he can call family. Plus, Naruto is so cute; he looks like a fox. Nobody can hurt him," Peter explained, and Happy smiled at the boy.
"Yeah," Happy agreed.
"I want you to teach him, Peter," Happy said.
"What?" Peter exclaimed.
"I want you to train him. You and Tony will teach him self-defense, and if the day comes, he has to defend himself, you will help him. You will become his brother," Happy said.
"But I have spider-powers, not this Chakra Tony, Pepper, and Naruto have," Peter pointed out.
"Yes, but you are also a genius, and Tony and Pepper know that. You are a true hero who helps everyday people, unlike Captain America, who claims to fight for the little guy but only takes down an organization, which will give him good publicity. I mean, when did you see the so-called little guy's hero Captain America helping grannies cross the street or saving kittens stuck in trees? Never. How many times did a certain spider help them every time? And you do well at school. I believe you will be an amazing teacher. Now go get some rest," Happy instructed as Peter went to his room. Tomorrow he would go home with May. He liked today; he showed Mr. Stark that Spider-Man was worth being an Avenger by helping take down Captain America and his evil team.
Meanwhile, with Cho:
Tony and Pepper entered the medbay. They saw a scared Naruto, and Pepper instantly rushed to his side, hugging him.
"Please don't let them hurt me again. Don't let the mean people put needles in me again that will hurt me for days," Naruto pleaded, and Pepper held him in her arms, hugging him tightly.
"Shhh... It's okay, baby; Mama and Daddy will protect you," Pepper reassured him, getting mad at the thought of Leaf Village experimenting on him. Looking at Tony, she saw his face turn to one of rage at the villagers.
"Naruto, this is Helen; she is a nice lady, she won't hurt you," Pepper introduced Helen.
"Hello," Helen said.
"Now, can you let Helen look at you?" Pepper asked, and Naruto nodded.
Cho proceeded to examine the boy's blood work and couldn't believe it.
"Are you sure he is four years old?" Cho asked.
"Yes," Pepper said.
"Because this blood says he's younger," Cho said as Tony chuckled.
"Naruto is part of Pepper's past, like the Kushina Uzumaki clan. They were known for high chakra reserves and life forces. When most people died, they started showing signs of old age. That's nothing out of the ordinary," Tony explained.
"Amazing! This blood, it's probably the most stubborn. It's like it can adapt to anything, and the passive healing factor it has would put even Steve Rogers to shame," Cho marveled.
"That's my boy," Tony proudly said.
"His vitals are perfect. He's a healthy boy. However, his blood shows signs of being malnourished, but some external source of energy, which I am presuming is the Nine-Tails you talked about, kept him healthy. From what I can see, the village allowed him to have a diet of rotten bread and ramen," Cho revealed.
"What! Fucking Hiruzen! We trusted him to look after our baby boy. Pepper even begged him to before she died as Kushina. That coward must have thought this will make his life easier—blame Naruto, let him take the hatred. Well, guess what? He won't get away with it," Tony seethed in anger.
"Helen, can you do one more test on him?" Pepper requested, and Helen nodded.
"It will be painless, Naruto. We will give you some ramen if you be a good boy and do all the tests," Cho promised, and the boy perked up.
"Ramen!" Naruto exclaimed, and Cho nodded.
"Good," Cho said and performed a brain scan.
Eventually, all tests were done, and Naruto was deemed well. Tony and Pepper had a birth certificate made for Naruto, giving him the last name Namikaze-Uzumaki-Potts Stark, shortened to Stark.
The End.